When Austiran tennis star Dominic Thiem managed to go all the way to the semi-finals of Roland Garros in 2019, he was merely retracing steps he had already taken. A previous lose in the French Open final, the Austrian has ben massively impressive and is one of the genuine contenders to take over from the ‘big four ‘ – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray – when they all retire. However, for now, he has to put up with losing in Grand Slam finals to them – but it has not slowed down his desire to keep on getting better.

Speaking about his 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 loss to Nadal in the Final for the second year in a row, Thiem said: “I had, until now, my best year for sure. I have won Indian Wells, Barcelona, finals again here,” Thiem said. “Even though I didn’t win the tournament, still, two years finals in a row, it’s nice. I think that I developed my game. I was also closer than last year in the finals, I have the feeling, especially in the first two sets.

“So I’m on the right way. And I failed today, but my goal and my dream is still to win this tournament or to win a Grand Slam. Was not enough at the end, but I went very far.”

For many, Thiem is very much the ideal candidate to take over from this stable of tennis legends.